Nerds That Geek Movie Review: 'War of the Worlds'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

While I fully understand the purpose of remakes and reboots in Hollywood today, in that, they help update classic stories for generations of people everywhere and keep studios in business, so they can make the next great blockbuster, I will forever be of the opinion that some classic motion pictures should be left alone, regardless of how many years ago they were made. Because sometimes a truly iconic film doesn’t need to be rewritten and revisited, it’s quite perfect the way that it is.
 
Granted, some would cite the dating of the special effects, or the cinematography or the story as good reason as to why a film should be remade, but even then, it’s important to leave films like that untouched and in circulation in order to remind us of where we’ve been and how far we’ve come. But regardless of my views on such matters, remakes will continue to be churned out, and I try my best to find the good in them, but sometimes, unnecessary remakes of a classic find ways to get under my skin, and one that irritates yet entertains me, is the 2005 iteration of H.G. Wells’ iconic invasion story, War of the Worlds.
 
Now, there’s really no good reason to discuss the plot here, because the core of the 1953 film remains. There’s an alien invasion, chaos ensues. So what we really need to take the time to discuss today, is exactly why this remake is so incredibly polarizing because I know I’m not the only one to take issue with it and well, if anything my love/hate affair with this film stems from the fact that at it times, it is supremely brilliant and powerful and poignant, with moments that utterly captivate the audience and at others times, there are scenes so cheesy and over the top and outright annoying, that you’re removed from the experience completely. 

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​So perhaps, the best place to start in discussing this film, is by looking at its flaws and really, its greatest weakness, is its characters. While it’s clear that the idea was to create a fish out of water story, where everyday people were thrust into a massive disaster and we follow their harrowing fight for survival, the whole notion simply falls short due to the fact that the characters are so supremely unlikeable. I mean I hate to say it, but Tom Cruise’s character, Ray Ferrier is more or less a jerk, and a bad father, and we simply cannot relate to him in the slightest and that makes moments that should have been important and powerful, boring to say the least, which leaves the audience hungering for more alien themed scenes.
 
Which interestingly enough, brings us to the film’s greatest strength, the invasion storyline. Because this part of the story is quite frankly, breathtaking. In part because the special effects are top notch, in fact the scene where these aliens arrive on planet earth still leaves me in awe with how eerie and surreal that moment that turned out to be, but I digress. Because the true draw of the invasion, is the fact that Director Steven Spielberg managed to tap into the zeitgeist and the fear of the early aughts by in essence, echoing some of the sights and sounds of 9/11, which let’s be honest, was still fresh in all of our minds at that particular time, and it allows for the action sequences, to send chills down our spines.
 
If anything, this inconsistency is quite the shame because if that kind of power had translated over to the character’s side of the story, it would have been easy to declare this remake a downright masterpiece. But alas, an inconsistent script, leads to an inconsistent film, but, it is a watchable affair to say the least. Because the buildup to the invasion actually works and the aliens arrival and their initial strike is handled in masterful fashion and the remake does at least replicate the apocalyptic feel of the original and if you haven’t seen this one, I do recommend it for the entertainment and awe factor because while this iteration of this incredible story falls short in some categories, the fact that it encapsulates the spirit of a frightened and unsettled time in American history, makes it worth your while. 

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